


Soft Sniffles

by GalekhXigisi



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Player (Carmen Sandiego 2019) has ADHD, Trans Player (Carmen Sandiego)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalekhXigisi/pseuds/GalekhXigisi
Summary: Whenever Carmen very first saw Player in real life, she couldn’t say she knew what in the fuck she was actually expecting. See, it wasn’t that she wasn’t aware just how much time he spent alone nor how often he fixated on things, but she didn’t expect this 4’7 short stack to waltz up with a shy smile and quiet personality. She was used to her cocky best friend who would spew on for hours upon hours, infodumping on random history or geographical topics, just an all-around social studies nerd. But now he’s physically on her couch, hands folded in his lap, body pressed against the back and arm, making himself as small as possible. He isn’t even big to begin with.She wasn't sure what to do when she realized that maybe his vacant parents weren't as vacant as she initially thought.
Relationships: Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep/Gray | Crackle, Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 7
Kudos: 170





	Soft Sniffles

Whenever Carmen very first saw Player in real life, she couldn’t say she knew what in the fuck she was actually expecting. See, it wasn’t that she wasn’t aware just how much time he spent alone nor how often he fixated on things, but she didn’t expect this 4’7 short stack to waltz up with a shy smile and quiet personality. She was used to her cocky best friend who would spew on for hours upon hours, infodumping on random history or geographical topics, just an all-around social studies nerd. But now he’s physically on her couch, hands folded in his lap, body pressed against the back and arm, making himself as small as possible. He isn’t even big to begin with. 

Icy and Zack are both, surprisingly, rather quiet. Even Graham is keeping his mouth shut for the sake of being quiet. It isn’t awkward, er say, but Player has yet to explain why he’s there. None of them are going to question him about it, not when he’s still watching the television with a distant look on his face and smile plastered on his lips. He’s so tense that they know better than to keep prying. 

Over time, they come to learn that he’s prone to staying silent when in the company of anyone else. While they’re on missions, he’s loud and happy and smiles without a singular bit of remorse for being himself. It’s fine, though, because for the most part, the collection of adults end up not being home, constantly thwarting VILE’s plans. It’s fine and Player gets along with the group. 

Everything is fine until Zack and Ivy get into a fight. 

The group of vigilantes hadn’t at expected the playful yelling they had been doing to trigger Player. It was a normal fight, it happened all the time and they always fought when they were on calls, teasing each other and getting angry for no reason. It was just how they were! Who could have blamed them for yelling and shoving each other? Player used to even laugh about it, saying that he wished he had a sibling (Carmen didn’t count, he had said) so that he could have a relationship like that. But after Ivy had shoved her brother and he had tumbled over the side of the ouch, the two had put a halt to their bickering because Player had dropped whatever was in his hands. 

The cup sat on the floor and Player stared at it for a moment, entirely still. He didn’t move, just staring at it. 

The twins peer at their friend, Ivy asking him, “Need any help with that, Player?” 

And the boy flinches so hard that both of the twins jump, too. His hands come up and he looks so  _ terrified, _ downright so, his chest heaving quickly as his body tenses. The flood of apologies that leave his mouth are, most certainly,  _ not _ what they’re expecting, the panicked, “I’m sorry, I’m  _ so _ sorry! I’ll clean it up! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-” 

“Hey, it’s okay.” Zack interrupts with a comforting smile. He sharpens, though, at seeing the tears welling in his eyes. Yeah,  _ that _ wasn’t what he was expecting. Then again, he wasn’t expecting Player to start crying, to begin with. But now the boy is fanning his face and Zack doesn’t know what to do. 

“What’s going on,” he hears Julia ask in a soft tone, brows furrowed slightly. “Is everything okay?” 

She raises her hand, just attempting to get his attention. She doesn’t expect him to duck his head, arms coming up to protect his face. She purses her lips, hand retreating instantly as she realizes what’s happening. 

“Hey, Player,” she says, her tone incredibly soft, “can you hear me right now?” 

There’s a subtle nod as he buckles down, squatting down amidst the broken glass. 

“Good, good, that’s good that you can hear me,” she reassures. She smiles softly. “It’s alright, Player. You’re safe. Do you know where you are?” 

He shakes his head, a soft sniggle heard from him. 

“You’re here, at home, with the rest of team Red. You’re in the living room with us. It’s just us, Ivy, and Zack here, no one else. You’re safe right here, where you are. No one is going to hurt you.” 

In a weak, broken voice, Julia hears the words that she thinks may just haunt her, to be frank. The whimpered,  _ “You’re not,” _ asked in such a sad tone full of desperate hope makes her chest feel tight. 

She smiles softly at the fact he’s responding, though, and finds herself nodding as she tells him, “No, no, we’re not going to hurt you, Player. It's alright here. No one is going to hurt you, I'll make sure of it." 

"Thank you," he whispers. 

"Is it okay if I touch you?" 

He hesitates, but finds himself moving forward, nodding slowly. "Yeah," he whispers once more, still tense. 

She slowly leans forward, giving him more than just enough time to pull back, to tell her that he isn't comfortable with it. But she doesn't get any of that, Player's forehead pressing to her shoulder and silent sobs getting choked out. Her shoulder gets wet but she doesn't dare say a thing about it as he falls into her, crying. She doesn't want to frighten him off, nor spook him back into a panic attack. 

The twins reluctantly move from their spots, though, getting a mop and a broom. They don't clean up the mess until Julia picks up the teenager, carefully moving him to the couch, setting him down so carefully and not minding as he still clings to her. 

It isn't until hours later when Julia is laying down beside Carmen and Gray that she says anything. Gray's already asleep, having fallen asleep after their caper near instantly and Carmen only having hesitated so she could shower. She had been worried about Player, voicing it the instant she sat down, confused as to why her basically-brother hadn't had much to say during their joined caper, only talking when spoken to. 

"I believe he has some form of PTSD," she says softly. 

Carmen smiles, a soft snort leaving her as she says, "I think we _all_ do, Jules." 

The other merely shakes her head and sighs. "No, I believe it's child abuse in some form, most likely verbal and physical." 

Carmen sharpens, tensing up. Her eyes slightly widen. _Player?_ Of all people, _Player_ was the one who had gotten abused? She knew he didn't like speaking about his past nor his home life, but he had mentioned a few times his mom was super strict and that his family was a highly respected one, at that. But being abused? She had equivocated his silence and tense posture to years of being groomed by his mother and forced to uphold the image she wanted for him. Sure, it was a form of abuse, she was aware, but she had never once considered verbal nor physical abuse to be in there. She hadn't even met the woman, much less actually seen or heard her, but she'd seen Player suddenly hang up a handful of times only to apologize when he got back for hanging up, often times his camera switched off and only using his speaker. She'd never pried, expecting him to know she would help him no matter what, do what she could to protect him. 

Suddenly, all the times he would randomly disappear for a handful of days, only emailing or texting her the files made her stomach fall flat. 

"What happened?" 

"Zack and Ivy were fighting, I believe. it's what they do, I'm sure you're aware." 

She hums and smiles. How could she not be? 

"Ivy pushed Zack over the couch and then they said Player dropped his glass. He started profusely apologizing once they said something and whenever I tried to get his attention..." She falters, sighing softly. "I raised my hand just to wave it in front of him and he brought his arms up to protect himself like I was going to hit him." 

Carmen sighs quietly, wiping a hand over her face. She hadn't expected _this_ tonight. "Was he okay?" 

"After everything, yes. We cleaned it up and he went to his room after he calmed down. I haven't talked to him since but he said he was helping you two with the caper." 

"He was so quiet, I just thought he was tired or something," she admits. 

Julia settles a hand on Carmen's shoulder, smiling supportively. "It's alright, Carmen. I don't think anyone said anything about it. We didn't know what to do, honestly, and Zack looked about ready to cry for making Player upset." 

Carmen laughs softly as she says, "Yeah, sounds like him." 

"Maybe we could find him some vigilante therapist or something?" 

"Shadowsan might know what to do." 

Julia nods supportively, smiling as she leans forward to press a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek. "Of course, Love," she says, slowly laying down. The conversation ends there for the night, yes, but it's no where near done, they both know. They'll have to talk to Graham in the morning, as well as Shadowsan and maybe Player, if he's up for it. For now, though, the two know they need to sleep, yawning quietly and laying down as the sun comes up. 

Distantly, in a room across the warehouse home, the youngest member of the team sits and stews in his chair, frantically typing into different search engines ways to apologize and how to stop a panic attack before anyone realizes what's going on. His search history gets extensive and he has to delete it, not that he thinks anyone will actually get past the hundreds of steps to log into any of his computers, anyway. 

It doesn't stop him from realizing that things were a lot worse than he thought initially. 

**Author's Note:**

> ahaha ptsd
> 
> Please leave likes and comments! If you particularly liked my fic, here's my Discord server!  
> https://discord.gg/eGkwayy


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